National Park

With the last six months being physically and mentally a complete up and down and me commuting back and forth between Munich and Duesseldorf in between flights, it was no wonder that my mind and body were both running on low energy levels. Experiencing your father slowly fading away takes up all the strength of the most powerful person, this I can assure you. So thank god, Nature was not too far away to refuel and let my thoughts wander freely… Continue reading →

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While most people coming to China´s capital leave the city with a visit to the Forbidden City only, I recently found out that missing out on the beautiful Summer Palace a bit outside of the downtown borders could be best described as a sightseeing deficit. Even if you happen to go on one of China´s biggest public holidays with ten thousands of other keen visitors… Continue reading →

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Hong Kong is a city that never sleeps. So it can be quite a good idea to know a few retreat spaces from all the stress and hustle and bustle of one of the world´s most dynamic urban spaces. And the good thing: You will not have to leave the city borders. Continue reading →

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Have you ever heard of the Orkney Islands? Sounds a bit intimidating at first once those ugly and frightening mythical creatures “Orcs” come to one´s mind that have sprung from the “Lord of the Rings” blockbuster saga. But luckily, this Scottish archipelago has nothing to do with murderous creatures. It rather is a well-kept secret in natural beauty and seclusion. A “Garden of Eden” at the Northern end of the British main isle. Continue reading →

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Another European jewel that I got to experience by chance is the gorgeous little medieval town of Visby on the Swedish island called Gotland. Making halt there during a re-positioning cruise from Oslo to Stockholm a few years ago, I instantly fell in love with Scandinavia´s best-preserved historic contemporary witness. Continue reading →

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Before it was time to fly back home, I took part in one last full-day excursion out of Iceland´s capital towards the geysers of Bláskógabyggð, about 1 1/2 hours west of Reykjavik. The forecasted storm was not as heavy at we had expected it to be, but it brought tons and tons of rain and heavy winds with it. And if you had not seen a geyser in real life like me before, there was nothing more exhilarating than seeing it blow while being soaked from the rain. Continue reading →

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It had rained continuously through the entire morning since our departure from Grundafjördur last night. As mentioned before, the captain had decided to dock the ship in downtown Reykjavík, where we would be a bit less exposed to the strong winds that were forecasted for the next couple of days and heavy thunderstorms that were expected to hit Iceland after falling on land from the Atlantic Ocean. Continue reading →

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After having left Isafjördur the night before, the night at sea had been a little rougher then during the other nights. One of the reasons may have been, that we had reached the Western shores of Iceland and therefore were more exposed to the changing weather conditions. Strong winds and lows that had formed over the Atlantic Ocean had nothing better to do than hitting the West coast without mercy. Continue reading →

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Still being completely out-of-order after the extremely tiring excursion to all these wonderful places around Akureyri, it was almost unfair towards Isafjordur that my body was screaming for a little rest. And so my adventurousness was limited to a stroll through the picturesque harbor village and along the fjord´s shore. Continue reading →